The Rose and the Manakyte
by Kamen Rider Bushido
Summary: This is the story of how Yuji met Rosa and her daughter, Maria. Simple enough, as it shows how their relationship develops.


Stopping for a bite to eat, Yuji entered a quaint little family restaurant. That was when he heard this from one of the booths.

"I love it, Mama! Thank you!" beamed a cute little girl in a white dress with brown hair and blue eyes. She was also wearing a white bonnet. She was hugging a stuffed lion doll.

"Happy Birthday, Maria," smiled the girl's mother, who was a young lady with long, light brown hair. She was wearing a black blazer over a white blouse and wore a red skirt that came down to her ankles. There was a birthday cake on the table with other assortments of treats. "What will you name it?"

"Sakutaro!"

Yuji smiled at the scene, "How cute," he muttered as he sat at the counter and ordered a pie with coffee. He continued to observe the mother and daughter up until they decided to leave. Rosa paid for everything and exited hand-in-hand with Maria.

Once outside the restaurant, Rosa gasped as her purse was suddenly snatched and the snatcher ran off with it. "STOP! THIEF!" she screamed.

"GIVE BACK MAMA'S PURSE!" shouted Maria.

Yuji, who was just about to start his D-wheel, saw the man dash off with the purse and sighed. "Damn it!" Starting up his vehicle, he gave chase as the bike ran along the sidewalk and after the purse-snatcher. People made way for the bike as he started gaining on the purse-snatcher who turned his head to see Yuji. He picked up speed and turned into an alley where Yuji gave chase.

The alley was a dead end, however, much to the purse snatcher's chagrin and he saw Yuji roll in. Yuji dismounted and commented, "You know, you can learn a lot about a woman from the contents of her purse but I don't think that was your intention." The purse-snatcher took out a switchblade and Yuji sighed in response. "You know, for your own sake, you should just give up. I'm really not in the mood to hurt you."

The purse-snatcher lunged but Yuji dodged and took off his helmet before hitting the man on the back of the head with it with enough force to knock him out. He caught the purse as it went flying and caught the man by the back of his clothes. "Typical," he muttered before dragging the purse-snatcher out of the alley while carrying the purse. What he came out to see were people applauding him but he ignored them. He dropped the purse-snatcher unceremoniously on the ground and approached Rosa. "Is this your purse, ma'am?"

Rosa blushed as the handsome young man returned her purse to her. "Yes, it is. Thank you."

"You should be more careful," said Yuji. "You'll never know when something like that will happen again."

"That was amazing!" Maria cheered. "You're a hero! You saved Mama's purse!"

"Hey, it was nothing. I'd do anything for any lovely lady in need," Yuji grinned. Rosa blushed at being called lovely. "Your husband must be really lucky guy to have a lovely wife like you and a cute little girl like your daughter."

Rosa frowned sadly, "I don't have a husband. He left me."

Yuji inwardly kicked himself for opening old wounds. He should've seen the signs. They were obviously there. He decided to try and cheer her up, "Well, it's his loss then. The idiot obviously didn't know how good he had it when he left you. I say good riddance."

"Oji-san, what's your name?" asked Maria.

"It's Yuji. Fudo Yuji," said Yuji. "And what's your name, little lady."

"Maria!" she beamed. She held up the lion doll, "And this is Sakutaro!"

"And the name of your lovely mother?"

"I'm Rosa. Ushiromiya Rosa," answered Rosa.

Yuji took her hand and kissed the back of it, "Pleasure to meet such a beautiful flower like you."

"Mama, your face is red," Maria pointed out. True enough Rosa was living up to her namesake, as her face was now a healthy shade of red.

"Well, maybe I'll see you around then," Yuji said hopefully.

"Oh, sure," Rosa nodded.

Yuji then ruffled Maria's hair, "Take care, kid. I'll see you around."

"Hai," Maria beamed as Yuji walked over to his D-Wheel. He started the engine and raced off. Maria looked up and saw her mother still blushing, "Mama, do you like Yuji-jisan?"

"W-What?" Rosa sputtered, "That's not possible…! Well, he did help me… But I might be too old for him."

Maria shook her head, "UU, Mama isn't old."

"Thank you, Maria," she smiled. "Let's go home."

* * *

><p>Yuji boarded the MysticLiner with a smile on his face as Lilith instantly hugged him. "Hey," he greeted.<p>

"Somebody's in a good mood," Lilith grinned. "What happened?"

"Yuji met a woman," Asura said from her seat at a booth.

"Oh, that's nice," Sora smiled. "Does she have a name?"

"Her name's Rosa," Yuji answered. "And she has a cute kid too, named Maria."

"Oh, a single mom," Lilith summarized. "She must be good if she's raising a child by herself."

Sora blinked, "No father?"

"Apparently, the asshole ditched them," Yuji frowned.

The girls grew silent for a moment, as they felt sorry for Rosa's situation.

"Then I guess this is where you sweep Ms. Rosa off her feet," Leon suggested as he entered the car.

"What do you mean?" Yuji asked.

"Oh, come on," Leon chuckled, "You obviously like her. And who better to help her than you?"

That's when the four spheres on Yuji's belt popped open and released four flashes of light, taking the forms of four different women.

One was covered in short white fur and black stripes on her face. She had blue eyes and long white hair. A tail swished back and forth from behind her as she was dressed in a training gi and bandages around her hands.

Another girl, with green eyes, was a statuesquely tall woman with pale skin, platinum blonde hair, and a curvaceous figure. She wore a skin-tight black leather combat suit cut in ways that reveal her large breasts. She wore a silver tiara in her hair and smirked.

The third girl had obsidian-black skin and bone-white hair, tied in a bun, and blood-red eyes. She was dressed in a white gown, with crescent patterns cut into the sides, which showed off her curves, as well as strapped sandals. She also had a pair of crescent earrings.

The fourth girl also had obsidian-black hair but her eyes were gold and her long hair was purple and tied in a long braid. She wore a black thong leotard with a full back, sandals, and fingerless gloves to show off her purple nail polish.

They were Stella, Reina, Phoebe, and Melanie.

"Mister Leon is right, Master," Stella said enthusiastically.

"There's no better to be with that woman than you, Master," Phoebe smiled.

Reina smirked, "After all, you _are_ our Master."

"I don't really care," Melanie shrugged. "So long as you still have time for us."

"Wow, you girls sure are something," Yuji chuckled. "Well, I'll think about it. Right now, I need a nap."

* * *

><p>Yuji was walking around in the super market, looking for a box of Fruit Roll-ups. He spotted a box in the bottom of an aisle and grinned as he reached down for it, when his gloved hand touched a child's hand, who was also reaching for the box. He looked and the hand belonged to little Maria.<p>

"Yuji-jichan," Maria smiled.

Yuji smiled, "Hey there." He grabbed the box and handed it to Maria, "Here you go."

"Thank you," she beamed, "UU-UU!"

"Aren't you cute," he chuckled as he ruffled her hair.

"Oh, Yuji," Rosa called as she approached the two while pushing a shopping cart.

Yuji stood up and smiled; another Fruit Roll-up box in his arm, and smiled, "Fancy meeting you here, Rosa."

Rosa cocked an eyebrow, "You're not stalking me, are you?"

"Right, I'm stalking you and following you to a super market so I can get your attention with a box of fruity fruit snacks," Yuji rolled his eyes with a smirk, "I am such an evil genius."

"My, aren't we snarky today," Rosa smirked back. "So you're just here for that candy?"

"Fruit snack," Yuji corrected. "And I swear I am not following you," he said. He then grinned and moved closer as he whispered into Rosa's ear, "Unless you _want_ me to follow you."

Rosa blushed and growled, "Wh-What are you saying…?-!"

"You look so cute when you're embarrassed," Yuji laughed.

"It's not funny!"

"Sure it is," he retorted. He crouched down to Maria's level, "Maria, doesn't your Mama look cute when she's blushing?"

"UU-UU," Maria nodded, "Mama looks very cute when she's blushing! Kihihihihi," she giggled.

Rosa sighed, "Seriously, how old are you, Yuji?"

"33," he answered.

She gaped, "What?-! But you look like you could be in your 20s, at least!"

"I look young for my age," he shrugged before grinning, "Are you interested in younger men? I'm seriously flattered."

"You must enjoy pissing me off, don't you?" Rosa glared.

"It's a gift," he retorted. "If you want, I can piss you off some more if we go out."

She blinked, "Wait, are you asking me out on a date?"

Yuji nodded, "Yes, yes I am."

"Well…I…What about Maria?" she asked.

"I can get her a babysitter," Yuji smiled. "No sense in leaving her home alone, right?"

"You have a point…" she sweat-dropped.

"Everybody on the ground, now!" a masked man shouted as he and an accomplice came in with AK-47s. The shot toward the ceiling, making people duck down as they approached the cash registers. "Open it up!" he ordered.

Yuji poked his head from behind the aisle to assess the situation: Two men, armed, hostile, easy targets for him. "This shouldn't be too hard," he muttered.

"Hey, what do you think you're going to do?" Rosa demanded.

Yuji grabbed a 20 oz bottle of Coke and shook violently. "Gonna share a drink," he answered as he came out from the aisle.

"That's not enough," he rasped. "What kind of scam are you pulling?"The big man yanked his gun suddenly towards the Cashier, breathing hard and fast through his teeth."Where's the rest of it?-!"

She suppressed most of a shriek, but her hands flew to her mouth. "T-that's all we have…I swear!"

"Then I guess it's your unlucky day," the man sneered as he clicked his gun. That's when Yuji made his move.

"Hey," he called to the robber.

The robber took aim at Yuji, "What do you want? I said don't move!"

"Here, catch," Yuji said as he lobbed the bottle at the guy.

He caught it and smiled as he proceeded to open the bottle (like an idiot), "Oh thanks, man, I was thirsty…"

-SPLASH!-

"Aw, what the fuck!" he shouted as he was sprayed in the face by the foam from the shaken bottle.

Yuji got in his face and punched him in the nose, making the robber scream in pain. Yuji then jumped up and kicked the gun out of the robber's hand before using an elbow dropped to hit the man in the head knocking him out.

"Teme!" the 2nd robber shouted as he aimed his gun but Yuji grabbed his wrist and twisted it, making him scream in pain, before Yuji kicked him in the gut knocking the air out of him.

"Wow!" Maria marveled.

"He…did it," Rosa gaped.

Yuji turned to the two and crossed his arms with a grin pulling his lips, "And that was without a single drop of rum!"

"Oh, thank you sir!" the counter girl bowed deeply.

Yuji nodded and walked over to Rosa and smiled, "So, about that date."

"I guess there's no harm in humoring you," Rosa sighed. "Alright then, we'll go out together."

"I'll come and get you tomorrow night then," Yuji smiled. "Might as well give you time to relax from today."

Rosa handed him a card, "This is my address. I'll be free after 6:00 pm."

"I'll swing by at 7:00," Yuji nodded. He then ruffled Maria's hair, "Take care of your mom and help her get ready, OK?"

"UU," Maria nodded, "See you later, Yuji-jichan!"

Yuji waved and left the market after paying for his fruit snack.

_'I should give him a chance,'_ Rosa mused. 'He seems different from all the others...'

To Be Continued...

* * *

><p>KAMEN RIDER BUSHIDO: And thus begins a relationship that will be set to bloom. Hope everything goes well for Rosa. In my opinion, she deserves a good husband, and Maria deserves a father. And Yuji may just be he one.<p> 


End file.
